| First Author | Mueller JL | Year | 2008 |
| Journal | Nat Genet | Volume | 40 |
| Issue | 6 | Pages | 794-9 |
| PubMed ID | 18454149 | Mgi Jnum | J:134377 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3785520 | Doi | 10.1038/ng.126 |
| Citation | Mueller JL, et al. (2008) The mouse X chromosome is enriched for multicopy testis genes showing postmeiotic expression. Nat Genet 40(6):794-9 |
| abstractText | According to the prevailing view, mammalian X chromosomes are enriched in spermatogenesis genes expressed before meiosis and deficient in spermatogenesis genes expressed after meiosis. The paucity of postmeiotic genes on the X chromosome has been interpreted as a consequence of meiotic sex chromosome inactivation (MSCI)--the complete silencing of genes on the XY bivalent at meiotic prophase. Recent studies have concluded that MSCI-initiated silencing persists beyond meiosis and that most genes on the X chromosome remain repressed in round spermatids. Here, we report that 33 multicopy gene families, representing approximately 273 mouse X-linked genes, are expressed in the testis and that this expression is predominantly in postmeiotic cells. RNA FISH and microarray analysis show that the maintenance of X chromosome postmeiotic repression is incomplete. Furthermore, X-linked multicopy genes exhibit a similar degree of expression as autosomal genes. Thus, not only is the mouse X chromosome enriched for spermatogenesis genes functioning before meiosis, but in addition, approximately 18% of mouse X-linked genes are expressed in postmeiotic cells. |
